Online interactions place dermatologists back in demand

Number of patients seeking aesthetic treatments nosedived after lockdown imposed in March 2020

With online face-to-face interactions becoming the new normal, dermatologists are seeing a sudden rise in the number of patients after a slump during the early months of the pandemic, according to a top skin specialist from Kolkata.

“Aesthetic procedures like Botox and laser hair removal took a hit last year as no one really bothered to go to a doctor because half the face was always covered. But with everything now going online, from classes to business meetings to social events, people are again realising the importance of a mask-free face and the number of patients going for aesthetic treatments has jumped up,” said Dr. Koushik Lahiri, a professor and senior consultant dermatologist at Apollo Gleneagles Hospital.

Rampant use of steroids

According to him, the number of patients seeking aesthetic treatments nosedived immediately after the lockdown imposed in late March 2020. “The lockdown prevented most people from reaching a qualified dermatologist, which actually increased self-medication and rampant use of steroids. I have even published an article along with my students on this subject in Dermatologic Therapy,” Dr. Lahiri said.

After a prolonged slump, the turnaround began in December 2020 and peaked in March 2021 before the second wave hit. “From June-July, aesthetic clinics are busy again,” he said, adding that more than half of his patients now are those suffering hair loss — one of the after effects of COVID-19 infection.

“The telogen effluvium [scalp disorder causing hair loss] that’s happening post-COVID infection is something I have not seen in my practice of three decades. This seems to be a global phenomenon. People are experiencing an alarming degree of hair fall after about 8-10 weeks of the infection and this is continuing for 12-16 weeks or even more,” Dr. Lahiri said.

“But like the hair loss one experiences after childbirth or typhoid, this too is a temporary phenomenon and those affected should get their lost hair back with proper treatment,” he said.

COVID-19-related cutaneous manifestations

According to him, COVID-19 has been known to cause other skin problems as well, such as hives and measles-like rashes. “Other peculiar, rare COVID-19-related cutaneous manifestations that cannot be pigeon-holed in the classification proposed by our group include erythema multiforme-like eruptions, pityriasis rosea-like rash, multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, anagen effluvium and a pseudo-herpetic variant of Grover disease. The spectrum is likely still incomplete and it is expected that new entities associated with this infection will be seen,” Dr. Lahiri said.

He said initially there was a lot of apprehension regarding procedural dermatology that required close interaction between the doctor and the patient. “Any procedure on the face was a no-no. Now we are doing everything with both the doctor and patients wearing masks. I have not worn a tie or blazer in the last more than 16 months — only surgical scrubs, mask, gloves and a surgical cap,” he said.

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